


Partners and Pendants

by Airetam



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Bathing/Washing, Dorks in Love, Dry Humping, Established Relationship, F/M, Friendship/Love, Intimacy, Making Out, Neck Kissing, OTP Feels, Saucy Wholesome Fluff, Skinny Dipping, True Love, ear kissing, slight time skip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:21:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21942808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Airetam/pseuds/Airetam
Summary: Rayla has some big, big feelings and the only way she can think of to even attempt to divulge them involves telling Callum about a special gift she needs his help with.  Of course, plans never do run smoothly, but sometimes, when one gets lucky, they run better than ever thought possible.ORRayllum doing what rayllum does best: loving each other and dropkicking us with feels.
Relationships: Callum/Rayla (The Dragon Prince)
Comments: 28
Kudos: 255





	Partners and Pendants

**Author's Note:**

> For those of you celebrating, happy holidays! For those of you not celebrating, I hope you have a really awesome day! 
> 
> Edited for added image, formatting and typos. So many typos. I guess I was a little distracted XD 
> 
> M for Mature
> 
> WARNING: You will find strong sexual themes, skinny dipping/bathing, (hopefully) steamy makeouts, neck/ear kissing, dry humping, and horny teenagers very much in love. Saucy wholesome fluff ;)

Rayla awoke with a jerk. At least she would have if her jerk of a dumb human was there to wake up next to. There was just a big empty spot beside her and Callum's scarf gripped in her hands. Sitting up, she ran her fingers along the red fabric forlornly and sighed. Of all the days she woke up with him not beside her it just had to be this one. All her plans, all her painful efforts to decide that today was the day she would tell him about the gift she had planned, to make something special of it, and he wasn’t even there to start the day with.

They were heading back to the Silvergrove, taking the long way this time, and she had decided to make a little detour. As much as it would have been nice to revisit the oasis, there was simply no going through the Midnight Desert. It was a shame really. He'd shown her an incredible drawing of it so real looking that she thought if she reached out to touch the page she would fall right through. He'd grinned, a little bashful, and told her he would always think of them being like that oasis in the middle of a terrifying desert full of soul draining serpents. Their relationship and bond a shelter from the difficulties of life - he'd quickly clarified off her baffled look.

She still melted a bit inside at the memory. He was always saying sweet things like that, the sometimes awkward words managing to be heartfelt and touching every time.

Rayla had racked her brain thinking of an alternative to the oasis since it meant a lot to her, too, and she'd remembered a place Runaan and Ethari had once made a trip to when she was old enough to be trusted to be left on her own. The name escaped her, but she knew from descriptions that it was a luminous, crystalline speckled landscape of lush forests, majestic caverns and glowing cenotes. It seemed the perfect place to help make her surprise romantic for him. She’d planned it all out, endlessly practicing what she’d say, how she’d go about explaining things to him, devising fun adventures for whole day, waiting and waiting as anticipation built up until they finally arrived. But now all the pesky, antsy feelings that had twisted in her stomach for days rushed back. She wondered if maybe she should just forget the whole thing.

Maybe it was too soon. She might be moving too fast. Maybe this was a sign.

She stared down at the scarf in her hands.

Where had Callum gone?

Watching her sleep had become one of his favorite things, she knew. As a result, waking up had become one of hers.

Dismay faded as concern took its place.

Why wasn't he there?

Did he not sleep well?

Was it another nightmare?

As questions filled her mind the downcast expression on Rayla's face changed to a frown of worry.

Wrapping the scarf loosely around her neck as she rose swiftly, a mission in mind, she investigated the campsite and caught sight of his trail easily enough. Brushing the thick foliage aside, Rayla moved at a brisk pace. She came to a quick halt as the trees thinned out to a clearing that opened to the water. There was still a faint layer of morning fog in the air that gave the area a hazy and ethereal atmosphere, but she blamed that more on for who she spied in the water.

Her chest stirred at the sight with a sharp pulling sensation as if it recognized her heart was near again.

Callum was bathing, submerged to his waist, with the golden rays of sunrise painting him with a glowing quality. The dawn light sent sparkles shimmering across the water’s surface and turned the sky a beautiful warm pink, soft orange and pale blue. Making a quick decision she darted over to stay hidden behind a moss covered boulder to indulge herself in watching him. He couldn't see her, yet she was close enough to the water's edge that she could clearly make out his features with little effort. 

It wasn’t the first time she looked at Callum and thought of him as a work of art.

The first few pieces of artwork she’d ever seen of his were a rendition of his primal stone and the sketch of the game room at 'the winter lodge.' While his skill was impressive she wasn’t truly in wonder of his art until she glimpsed a portrait of his mother. The woman on the paper had not looked like what she expected of royalty. He’d drawn her with an air of modesty and grace, humble and kind looking with her hands clasped together demurely. There had been an accompanying drawing of her face in detail, and Rayla hadn’t needed to see the crown upon her head to know that the woman was his mother. 

They shared the same features, especially around the eyes. There were the same thick, straight brows. She was sure the woman must have been just as soulful and intense in expression as her son with a face like that. 

It wasn’t a secret anymore that she was charmed by his eyes. She had told him so when he’d asked her once what she liked about his looks. Rayla hadn’t been sure what had brought it on, but Callum seemed glum, more quiet and preoccupied one day until she’d pried out of him that he didn’t know how he compared against elves. Against what the standards of male beauty where for Rayla and what she was used to. Rolling her eyes she'd told him to stop fishing for compliments, but then his shoulders slumped and he said that while he knew it was silly he’d always considered himself plain and rather ordinary looking.

Someone must have said something to him. 

She’d scowled, angry that anyone would make him unsure of himself or of her affections and immediately set out to put his worries to rest. Kissing first his forehead and working her way to his cheeks and nose and lips, she’d softy confessed how she loved his eyes. Confessed how she loved his thick, dark lashes and brows. Confessed how she loved his shaggy hair and the way it fell across his forehead, loved how dashing and sweet and handsome it made him look. She’d run her fingers through it and confessed so thoroughly his knees had gone weak and he'd slid a little against the wall she had him pinned against. He hadn't brought doubting his looks up since.

Thankfully she had managed to hold on to confessing that she had been a little uncertain, too, but in a different way, about human standards, at least until exploring the snowy village at the base of the Moon Nexus. Back then Rayla hadn't been sure Callum was actually cute or if Runaan was right about her and she had actually gone and lost her mind. Funny that both turned out to be true. 

It was almost a relief when they got into the town and wherever they walked it had been him who turned heads and not her human disguise. Girls had giggled excitedly and whispered to each other as they passed. It didn’t take long until she caught on to what had grabbed their attention. She'd known then it wasn't just her who considered Callum interesting. The knowledge had brought with it even more confusion and intrigue at the time.

In short, he was a work of art. 

Seeing him splashing in the water brought all those feelings rushing back and for a moment it overwhelmed her. A lump of emotion formed in her throat and it took a few attempts to swallow down the feelings threatening to steal her breath. Once she recovered her composure her eyes drifted to his shoulders and arms taking note of the musculature before appreciating the way his back tapered gently down to his waist. She’d been continuing to teach him the tenets of stealth along with some basic katas and ritual dances. Like with anything they did together, he delighted in it, relished it and devoted himself to her _very_ patient, extensive hands-on instruction.

He’d taken to it very well, she thought, as her gaze continued to trail up and down lazily.

Abruptly he dunked underwater and resurfaced, flinging his head back to send water droplets streaming through the air in a display she wasn’t prepared for. His hands vigorously ran through his hair, tousling it dry and turning it enticingly messy and disheveled.

Fighting the blush covering her cheeks, her eyes flicked away to allow herself a chance to reign in her wild heartbeat. After taking a steadying breath she decided it would be safer to fixate on his hands. It was so rare to see them without his gloves. She knew he opted for the finger-less type because he couldn't bare to sacrifice the dexterity. Apparently he had started wearing them to protect his hands due to how prone he was to clumsiness but also because of the increasing expectations that came with being a prince - how it would have been frowned upon to have roughened hands. She was thankful for once about some of the stringent codes of royal conduct he'd had to follow. 

Rayla loved his hands.

They were large and broad, soft and clever, and just so different from hers. It had been alarming the first time he placed a hand on her shoulder, consoling and supporting her when she'd shared her fears about water and the shame of her parents' supposed betrayal. Instead of scorning or belittling her, he had mystified her then with his compassion and goodwill, apologizing on the behalf of humans and calling her heroic for taking action despite her fear in order to save Bait. She knew now it was just his nature to be so tenderhearted. Warmth and kindness seemed imbued within his hands, and when he touched her she swore she could feel traces of magic. 

It wasn't magic of the sky or moon primal. She didn't know what else to call it besides magic. All she knew was that it was a different kind of magic, one she was still learning to this day, but knew had sparked to life from that moment when he'd placed his hand on her besides that riverbank. With every shared touch and moment between them since that magic had amplified, reacted with him until it couldn't be contained. 

She leaned her head against the rock she was hidden behind, utterly helpless against the smile that broke across her face like the dawn had across the sky. Once upon a time she wouldn't have ever believed how sappy her thoughts could become, but now she rather enjoyed the dalliance to 'smell the roses' so to speak. However, it was high time to get back on track. There were plans for the day after all. Now that she'd found him, thankfully not in any kind of trouble, she wasn't going to back down. She'd tell him about the pendant. She would. 

She just had to leave her vantage point first.

If she could get her legs moving that'd be great. It was only Callum. Naked in the water. He'd been shirtless before. It didn't have to be weird. It _shouldn't_ be weird.

She could do this. 

Rayla knew just how to play it so it wouldn't be a big deal. The question was if Callum would catch on and play back or if she'd end up still making him uncomfortable instead. He could be surprisingly embarrassed about certain things, and it was times like those she remembered he was slightly younger than herself. It was easy to forget. There were times he seemed older. 

After a few seconds spent considering her approach and trying to think of something humorously suggestive that she could say with a straight face and not burst out laughing, she boldly stepped out from behind the rock into full view to let loose a loud, low wolf whistle.

"Sweet holy dragon, what have my maidenly eyes stumbled upon this fair day? What a vision! A human rare to these lands taking a dip in blessed waters. And what a fine one at that. Oh, dear me." Rayla punctuated her statement with a flirtatious raise of an eyebrow, waving a hand to fan herself, her grin growing. 

The smile that stretched from ear-to-ear was just a step back from breaking out into delighted giggles but, gosh, Callum could be predicable sometimes. At her whistle he'd jumped comically and whipped around to see her standing, seemingly appearing from out of nowhere, right at the water's edge. He'd immediately sunk into the water up to his chin, eyes wide and startled. Floundering for words, he just gaped at her and she could see the building anxieties as his eyes darted around, no doubt looking for his discarded clothing. 

Acting fast, she winked, showing him her act was all in good fun and twirled a lock of hair. "Oh my, such a forbidden sight! I feel as if you have enchanted me, good sir, for I am rooted to the spot to forever drink in what a gorgeous image you make." At her exaggerated sigh and hands clasped together over her breast she could see him relax, shooting her a small smile as he stood so the water came up just below his shoulders. 

She gestured for him to speak. He stuttered, searching for a way to jump into her game at the invitation. "Oh, an enchantment, you say?" He coughed and cast his eyes about, grasping for a script until they landed back on her. "Uhhh, tell me, fair maiden, how is it I who has charmed one so lovely? I fear it is _you_ who has cast a spell over _me_. Such a powerful spell." 

"Nonsense, do you not see how the very air around you glistens with magic? There is a spell afoot as you say. A powerful one, indeed." She blinked. That was getting a bit too close to the truth now. The fresh water droplets on his skin had caught the sunlight in the most fascinating of ways, and Rayla couldn't stop her eyes from wandering with undisguised interest. Her open admiration had a profound effect. Callum preened, turning for her this way and that, performing an exaggerated hair flip with eyes going heavy lidded. When he spoke it was with a mock-suave voice that had dropped at least half an octave. 

"My eyes are up here, fair maiden." It was his turn to shoot her a flirtatiously raised eyebrow. 

Oh, dear Garlath, he'd turned the tables on her. She was at a loss for words, flustered and reeling from his antics. 

He looked smug now, no trace of discomfort. "Ah, but you've figured it out now. True, it's not the air that has magic, but 'tis I. I am a mage of the sky and its magical spark dwells within me. That is what you sense upon the air." 

Thinking quickly, Rayla devised a way to turns those tables right back on him and then some.

"Come closer, sky mage, for I wish to see this magic spark from within. Perhaps I just need to look upon it to be freed from your spell? Won't you rescue me, kind sir?"

"I never meant to ensnare you, dear maiden. Look and let me right my every wrong." 

Heedlessly, Callum stepped closer, seeming to forget entirely about the water's depth each time she beckoned him. "Closer, just a bit closer. I think I can almost see it now." She squinted, playing up the act with her hand against her forehead as if to peer at something from a distance. Down and down the water crept until it was back to being level with his waist. Another step and it was slightly just below his navel. 

"Aha, I believe I can see the magic you speak of!" She dropped the act, reverting to her usual voice. "It seems to be....right there." She gave a serious, pointed stare into the cloudy water and then looked up to waggle her brows at him. As she waited the split second for him to make the connection her face morphed into a teasing grin which completely failed to conceal the humor and sly satisfaction coursing through her. 

Rayla didn't think she'd ever seen his face turn so red so fast before.

Callum yelped and both his hands shot down to cover himself as he sank lower.

All the laughter she'd been suppressing burst out as she nearly keeled over, an arm clutching her side. "Close one, Callum. Almost had you there!" She snapped her fingers. "Mmh, darn."

"Oh, ha ha. Very funny, Rayla. What is this? Pick-on-Callum day?" He crossed his arms, looking rather like an adorably grumpy version of their favorite glowtoad.

"Trust me, there's nothing to pick on you about."

She nearly bit her tongue off. 

She'd hadn't meant to let her guard down and give voice to that thought, but he'd looked so chagrined that she couldn't help complimenting him with the first thought than ran into her mind. She certainly hadn't meant to say something so direct though.

Callum's face just flushed red all over again, his mouth dropping open. She slowly met his eyes and restated her comment, refusing to take it back or diminish it. 

"Yeah, nothing to pick on about at all."

Breaking the heated gaze took awhile.

She blinked and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, feeling the warmth on her own face slowly dimming.

He cleared his throat, rubbing the back of his neck. "Right. So, uhh, weren't you sleeping? How'd you know I was over here?"

"Well, it gets cold without you. I just wanted check that you were alright." She knelt at the shore to talk to him. "I missed you. You sleep okay?"

"Next to you, who wouldn't?"

Rayla's eyebrows shot up. It seemed she wasn't the only one with thoughts escaping before getting a hold of them. Rayla shouldn't have enjoyed his embarrassed panic, but he made it too easy not to. She smiled to put him at ease for his comment then gave a mock frown. "Well, thank you, but I missed my morning snuggle. You know how I love that. I guess I'll leave you to it then." She moved as if to stand up, prepared to hike back to camp and let him finish washing up. 

His arm moved to stop her. "Wait, wait! You don't have to go. I'm sorry! I didn't mean to cut into your adoraburr time. I know how much you like that, and well, I really like it, too. There was just - you know, the call of nature! Yeah, and then the water looked so nice - I - I thought it would be just a quick rub a dub dub." He made a series of hand word gestures. Rayla guessed it meant 'bath.' 

She did a mental double take, the back of her neck burning. An eyebrow quirked and she could feel her ears warming as they flicked up and dropped low. "Excuse me, I'm sorry. What was that? _Adoraburr_ time?"

He shrugged. "Oh, you know, your adoraburr time. It's when you use your Moonshadow powers, not in the light of a full moon, but at daybreak in order to turn into my very own personal adoraburr." He smiled, pleased at his comparison. "Because you hug and hold on to me so tightly." He felt the need to hug himself and twist slightly back and forth to demonstrate. "Like you're an adoraburr. Get it?"

She huffed. "Uh-huh, great. Now it's pick on Rayla time?"

"What? No, no - it's cute. And I'm your own personal adoraburr, too, so it's okay. It's why we stick together so well. Adoraburrs - the both of us!"

She couldn't resist that smile, it always did things to her. _He_ always did things to her. Turned a fearsome Moonshadow elf into, well, an adoraburr it seemed. She supposed she could live it down if only Callum knew.

"Hmm, we're pretty stackable, too." That was another hash mark to her ongoing tally of making him blush. She tried not to gloat, but, good Garlath, Callum blushed so easily. 

He recovered a bit quicker though this time.

"Speaking of...ahem, sticking together, do you think you can stay a while with me? Just for a bit. You don't have to leave. I'd invite you in, but I know you're put off by a little splish splashing. There's just this one spot I can never get on my back. Do you think that maybe -"

Rayla knew a half-truth when she heard one. He wanted her to stay, but not to help him wash. Not really. He was avoiding something. Words came easier to him than her, so it was worrisome that he seemed to be circling around what he truly wanted to say.

He'd been speaking, rambling on in his flustered way. "- mean to make you uncomfortable. I'm an idiot. Forget it. I know you hate the water. I'm sorry I asked. I don't know what -"

She'd been feeling a little reckless since the moment she woke up, ready and excited to unveil her big surprise gift of the pendants she had planned to tell him about. Contemplating and hoping at what it might mean for them. Rayla felt more than a little reckless seeing him in the water. How reckless would she feel if she were in the water with him, too?

A shiver sparked through her and settled deep.

"If I joined you, there might be more than a little splish splashin'."

He'd frozen, the stream of words dead on his lips and eyes huge.

This time his blush went down his neck and up to his ears.

She was on a roll now. What had gotten into her? 

She plucked off his scarf from around her neck. "You know what? I think I will come in. Conquer my fears! I know it'll be okay since you're here." Standing up she started tugging her boots off. "I don't think I'm as afraid of the water as I used to be. All I have to do is remember the times you were with me when I was anywhere near water. Like on that dinky rowboat or through that horrible storm on Villads' ship. Ugh." Off came the leather body armor then the vambraces and belt, all dropped into a pile next to Callum's heap of clothes. "I just think of you and I'm safe. Besides, the more I think of you in connection with water the more I might actually begin to like it. Maybe. It's a theory. You said you needed help with your back, right? Maybe you can return the favor?"

Rayla was looking forward to that, but mostly she wanted to find out why he really left in the morning and didn't return to her. Why was he so reluctant to talk about it? 

A single finger spun in the air, indicating for Callum to turn his back while she finished stripping. He blinked, still wide eyed and moved to where he could stand with the water a bit below his shoulders, facing the opposite direction. She inhaled deeply, taking her time disrobing to stare at the bit of his back that was visible. It was an expanse of smooth, pale skin sparsely speckled with brown spots. Looking at them she felt the urge to run her fingers back and forth from mole to mole, creating constellations and turning him into her moonlit sky. 

When he extended an arm blindly out behind him for her to grab her heart warmed so fiercely sudden tears in her eyes had to be blinked away. She focused on his stretched out hand and ignored the murky water lapping at her legs then up at her chest. The water wasn't so bad, she thought, but with the way she seized his hand she knew the fear was still very much there.

"It's alright, Rayla. I've got you. I'm right here. You're doing so good." Callum's continuing reassurances in that same low and calming tone helped keep the discomforting shriek of panic at bay, and she pulled gently on his arm to turn him towards her instead of yanking him close to cling on to like the fear made her want.

She hadn't known seeing his eyes drop to caress her bare shoulders or seeing how bright they were once they met her face would be enough to make her forget her fear. His throat bobbed and it was only then that she began to see he was nervous, unbalanced with her bare in the water next to him. Her heart flipped over. The grip on his hand changed from a crushing hold to something loose enough to interlace their fingers. Eyes focused on her own, he brought their joined hands to his lips for a quick peck and her fear vanished.

"Hey, would you look at that. It's better now." She held their hands up for another kiss. "Keep 'em coming. I think that's what's working." 

A tender smile at her winked joke and another kiss later Callum's eyes had darkened to show only a slight ring of green around his pupils. She tracked his adoring gaze as it drifted over her openly from her own eyes to her lips to her neck then to the top of her chest, lingering unashamed over curves partially revealed by the water. 

She could hardly think with him looking at her like that, and the pounding of her heart only did so much to mask the heaviness of her breathing through her parted lips. He blinked slowly, seeming to pull himself from a stupor. "Are you okay for me to turn around now?"

It took entirely too long to realize what he was talking about.

His back! 

She was supposed to wash his back. Touch it. Feel the bare smooth warmth of it without clothing in the way. 

"Yeah, I'm good. You go ahead." How her voice came out so steady was beyond her, not when she could feel a faint tremble starting up in her hands that had nothing to do with being in the water. At least not the way being in the water usually meant. 

He slowly faced away, and Rayla stared at the part of his back that was visible, remembering the great feathered wings that had sprouted, transforming his arms. Remembering the feeling of his shoulders moving under her hands as he pumped his wings to fly them through the air back up to the pinnacle of the Storm Spire. The power in his movements intoxicating under her hands as they stole kisses equally as intoxicating during the ascent. 

With the direction her thoughts had gone it surprised her that steam wasn't coming off the water's surface.

Cupping her hands, she gathered a good handful of liquid and began washing him. There had been several times when she'd enjoyed the feeling of his back from underneath his clothes, but this was really the first time she could connect sight with touch. It was quiet between them for a few moments, just the sound of water trickling and splashing. A simple occasion of serene companionship and intimacy. She looked at the line his spine made and the dark, water blackened tips of his hair at his neck and spoke, reluctant to break the tranquility but knowing it was necessary. "Talk to me, Callum." She didn't like how evasive he was being. Was this how he felt when she grew silent and stewed over her thoughts? 

"I got another letter from Nyx." 

Rayla narrowed her eyes. "What's she doing writing you again?" 

She heard as well as felt his inhale. "Well, you know how last time I told her to try an honest living? Turns out she's been performing as a bard of sorts. And now she's asking for some new ideas for more material." He glanced back at her. "Last time I might have happened to tell her about a certain bread-loving human girl and her charming Earthblood elf companion who go on all sorts of adventures together. Aaaaand who might have a very heavy flirtashionship going on. The whole will-they-or-won't-they-ever-admit-their-true-feelings thing? Turns out it's actually a big crowd pleaser."

She just stared, disbelieving. "You cannot be serious. People go to watch that? What else did she say?"

"Oh, get this, get this." He laughed. "She asked me if I have a brother!"

"You're kidding!"

"No, really. I had to tell her that while I did have a brother he was at least half her age. She hasn't written back. I think she's embarrassed."

Rayla's hands had stopped running along his back with purpose and now stroked just to feel him. The moles on his back tempted her fingers anew, her reply coming out distracted. "I don't even know what to think about that." 

"I think she could just use a good influence. A friend - at least one who's not an ambler. I also might have mentioned something about Commander Gren, and I think part of why she hasn't written back has to do with him possibly being her new pen pal now."

Her grin was fond, head shaking back and forth with a chuckle. "I can't believe you. You're too sweet sometimes. But you might be onto something. About just...needing a friend."

There was a pause as they both felt the truth in the statement, knowing what a change it was having a friend to rely on and confide in, to have fun with and bring joy into the simplest of things. With the pad of her finger she finally started to draw invisible lines from mole to mole before advancing to tracing elvish words across his back. Friend. Love. Partner. She sealed them with a kiss pressed between his shoulder blades.

"I was actually hoping you'd talk to me about whatever it is that's bothering you, as much fun as it's been hearing about you setting up people."

He turned around to face her, eyes a little guilty and distraught. 

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to start off the day with that," he admitted. "I know you've been looking forward to coming here, and I didn't want to spoil it. Just wanted to think of happier things. How - how did you know?"

"I know you. And it's okay. Plans can wait. Talk to me." 

"Oh, so you did have something planned? What?"

"I'm not ruining the surprise." She touched his cheek. "Callum, I'm here to hear you. Just tell me your feelings or whatever you need."

"It was just another bad dream. I wanted to take a moment to - I don't know - wash it away. You didn't need to deal with my problems first thing. I should have gone back, but I know you haven't been sleeping the best either." He wasn't the only one with darkness visiting in his dreaming state, but he seemed to be the one more greatly effected. Her own nightmares had been intense at first, leaving hardly any room for rest, but as more and more time passed they'd relented and given her a bit of a respite. How she wished Callum would also be released from the grip of his own night terrors. 

"Don't go picking up my bad habits. I don't care if you wake me up even if I haven't slept for a month. You can talk to me always. About anything." The need to comfort and touch had become a reflex and before she knew it her hands had slid up his arms and cupped around his shoulders. 

Unspoken words passed between their eyes as they looked at each other. Callum nodded, as if in agreement or surrender. "Let me wash your back for you, too."

She turned away, facing out to see the sunrise, waiting for him to speak.   
  
Instead of using his voice he spoke to her of gratitude and love with his hands. He gathered her hair carefully and swept it over a shoulder, sending pleasant goosebumps along her arms and back. Water poured over her skin and then he was touching her. She didn't know how it was possible for him to rub fire into her skin, caressing her so delicately that it soothed at the same time it ignited a ferocious heat. 

Of course, she should have figured Callum would be able to cause such wildly contradictory sensations from one action. He'd always been a source of contradictions. One minute he could be overly cautious and timid and then resolute and courageous, or so clever and smart and then hopelessly daft. He'd inspired a great many contradictions in her, too, so it shouldn't have surprised her how feeling his hands run all over her back would also stir such opposite reactions. And yet it did. Perhaps he'd always be taking her by surprise, she mused. 

His hands conveyed a great reverence as they worked steadily, massaging first gently then harder as he experimented with different pressures and movements. "You're so beautiful." At last he spoke, a low rumble in his voice that was every bit as electrifying as the weight of his gaze burning a path over her back. The coolness of the water did nothing to help quench the heat, and Ralya knew with a certainty that she'd never think of water in quite the same way again. 

"I know you care and that you want to help me no matter what, but the thing is, I think I have to deal with these nightmares on my own." He rubbed a bit rougher, working through a knot of muscle the same way he seemed to be working through his thoughts. "It's just I don't know how. I'm tired of feeling this way. So tired of putting you through it. I just feel so weak, like I should have gotten past it all by now." 

His frustration and pain ripped through her heart and it was a battle not to turn around to hug him, to console and drive away his unhappiness. She knew he had to get the words out now or they would remain trapped and unspoken, festering and pulling him down. As a compromise, her hand came up to rest on her shoulder, catching and holding his with a warm squeeze as she tried to comfort him.

"You can't help what you dream or the way you feel. It doesn't make you weak. And you're probably right about them. You have to be the one to beat them in the end. Just know even if I can't really help, you'll never have to fight them alone." Her free hand clenched tight into a fist wanting nothing more than to fight alongside him and lend him her strength, to vanquish his every terror and take on every hurt.

"It was the one where I'm back in the battle, and I just keep dying. Over and over. I get attacked by one of those...monsters. It - he - wasn't human. Not anymore. I can remember his eyes, red like embers from a fire and his body all cracked and burning like lava." He sounded lost, voice small and anguished. "It was like pure hate had been given form. It was so terrifying the way he just charged right at me. I was too slow. I couldn't draw a rune in time and he hit me, knocked me right off my feet, and I - I should have died then." She heard him gulp loudly against the horror of having danced with death. "My sketchbook took the brunt of it. The marks are still there and every time I see them I just - it makes me see it all again and I feel sick. He had me by the throat, choking the life right out of me, and I _knew_. There was nothing I could do. The arrows never came. And all I can think is that I failed you - failed everyone." 

She understood what it was like to be bested in battle, to feel like a failure, and knew the distinct surprise and terror that came with the certainty of facing the end not on one's own terms. Just as she was about to speak and tell him so, he mumbled, still sounding a bit lost and uncertain.

"I wanted to get the feeling of his hand off my neck. And the smell of ash in the air. I wanted to wash it all away. I didn't want it to touch you."

She understood then that he meant to protect her from tainting the morning with the darkness of his thoughts. She turned back around and clasped his shoulders again. She'd protect him this time.

"You're not a failure, Callum. You're so strong, and it's, well, pretty sane and normal to be having bad dreams about this sort of thing. And we're working on it, so it might take a while but it will get better, I promise." She gave him a little shake to help make her words stick. "We're doing melee exercises, plus you've improved so much with your sword forms. If you were in a similar situation again, you'd know what to do. You're working so hard. Just imagine how much better you'll be by summer's end!"

There was a new hopeful gleam in his eye, like he'd realized the truth to all she'd been saying. If he could just convince himself maybe his nighttime fears would have less of a target she hoped. 

A thought struck her then, recalling the dream's detail about him being the target of an attack and being too slow to fire off a spell. How his sketchbook shielded him from an incapacitating blow.

"You know, I just remembered a certain Moonshadow weapon that I think might suit your style. Don't get too excited, Mr. Stealthy, I've only ever seen illustrations of it in reference books, but from what I know of how you fight it should be a good match. It's called a buckler blade and it works just like how it sounds. Mainly, it's used as buckler but it can also be used in its alternate form as a short sword, and the clincher is that it's a one handed weapon..." She trailed off knowing he'd understand the tactical advantage she was alluding to.

He clasped her shoulders. "Which means I can still have a hand free to use for rune casting! Instead of being all sword and shield, I'll be sword and shield and magic!"

"Yes! When you can't cast you still have a defense. And when you need to press an attack you have a form of quick offense instead of relying on casting all the time. We'll definitely have to look into it and see if we can get it forged."

"That would be incredible! And to think, my aunt always said I was better with shields like her. I guess there really was something to that." He brought a hand up to brush her cheek. "Thank you, Rayla, I think working with you on combat skills has really helped me, and I think looking into this, uh, buckler blade?" Off her nod, he continued. "Buckler blade. Right. I think it's something I want to learn more about and see if it's something that I could work with. It sounds awesome."

Pleased she'd helped in some way to confront what his nightmares seemed to be tormenting him with - his shortcomings with his fighting abilities and the lingering feelings of having failed himself as a result - she then tackled the next half of the whole issue. His dreams would not leave him be. 

"So, these nightmares...Have you ever thought that all the ways you just notice things and remember them - how you can see a spell and then just know it - have you ever thought that it's something that's helpful in some ways but harmful in others? 

"Like a double-edged sword?"

"Yes, exactly! You can see things so clearly, but the things you wish you can forget...they stay with you just as clearly. These dreams, it's the same way you experience anything else, isn't it? You can just remember something like it's happening for the first time again?"

"Yeah, that's the way I've always been." He shrugged. 

"It might not help much, but I'd say it's time to make some new memories. Really good ones. What do you say? I did have some plans for today. I had us come here because I wanted to spend a day with you just having fun. Sightseeing and whatnot. And I have a...special project I need your help with." 

"That sounds really good." He suddenly looked a bit contrite, head hung low before looking back up at her. "I should have just stayed with you this morning and talked to you. You're so good at helping me sort things out and just listening. You always have such good advice. Thank you. I do feel better." 

"I'd like to think you taught me that. You're pretty good at all that, too, you know. Even when I don't want to talk, you always know that I need to. I want to do the same for you."

"You do. You have. You're so good to me."

Without realizing it they'd been moving closer and when his forehead rested against hers it seemed natural to lean into a kiss. It was soft, just a meeting of lips that served as a means of healing in a loving, slow, dizzying caress. It wasn't long before they were exchanging open-mouthed kisses that were just as loving although paced a bit faster and a touch more heady. His plush lower lip caught her attention and before she knew it she had taken it between hers to give it a gentle tug. When he did the same back it sent tingles up and down her spine, ears flushing a bright pink.

"I think it's time to get out of the water now." She breathed the words against his mouth, staring into his eyes.

He was already nodding his head. "Yeah. Yeah, we really should."

Neither moved. 

Callum gave her one last kiss, chaste this time, and afterward they agreed to head out of the water and back to camp. She dressed first, insisting that if he peeked then so would she. Seeing him in his hodgepodge of human and elven clothing - his blue jacket lost long ago to the Spire and his red shirt exchanged for a simple Sunfire tunic - just made Rayla curious to see him donned in her colors of Moonshadow attire. Perhaps a vest. Or perhaps a pair of new trousers. Maybe both. She knew the greens and blacks would suit him either way.

Lost in her thoughts of Callum in Moonshadow fashion Rayla didn't notice her eyes were absently running over his figure until she glanced down and her line of sight stalled and lingered. If there was a slight bulge in Callum's pants she couldn't really blame him. After all the kissing and back rubbing and just being together concealed only by the water, she knew she was just as wound up from it all. The swift pounding of her pulse was still strumming throughout her body and throbbing just as loudly from her chest as it was from between her thighs. Quickly looking away before he noticed she redirected her thoughts down a more innocent pathway. 

She still had to tell him about the gift. She'd do it the first chance she got.

He grasped her hand for the walk back, and if her heart beat a little faster at the feel of his thumb sweeping back and forth across hers, well, she couldn't really fault herself for it. They really were like adoraburrs, she thought, as she held his hand just that much more tighter.

Once back at camp after they'd finished a hearty breakfast she got his sketchbook out. Careful not to show the tattered binding and shredded cover she settled down on the bedrolls giving the space next to her a pat. Shifting onto her side, propped up on her elbow with a hand supporting her head, she beckoned him over again. It was time. She'd tell him about the gift, tell him what its meaning was. See about designing it together. She wasn't nervous anymore.

"I want to tell you a story. It was one my mother used to tell me. I was very little and didn't get to hear it often, but I still remember the important parts. You'll like it, it's about trees."

"Really!? An elven story about trees? I can already tell this is going to be my favorite story. It's really about trees?"

"I couldn't make it up if I tried. C'mere. Just listen."

He joined her, thought better of it and edged closer, posture mirroring hers as she opened his sketchbook to a fresh page and slipped the charcoal pencil out of the holder.

"The story goes along with the meaning behind a special bit of jewelry. Among Moonshadow elves it's common to forge metalworks to show bonds between people. Weapons, jewelry, cuffs, buckles, all sorts of things, you name it. For deeper bonds though, sometimes pendants are used."

"Like the one Ethari gave you?"

"Yeah, similar. But I'm talking about the ones that are just metal. They're decorative, sentimental only. No spellcasting. These pendants - the wearers decide what they mean. They can be for family or friends. Or couples. Partners. Spouses. I - I thought we could design a pair and have it made once we get to the Slivergrove. It could be a late birthday present for the both of us or - " 

"Or a special gift between...partners?" Uncertain over the right meaning his voice rose in question. 

"Yeah. Yeah, it could mean that, too, if you want." Pure emotion caused her to take a sharp inhale at the meaning they'd arrived at, eyes growing wide while they darted around in the struggle to not freak out and hide from the overwhelming nature of her feelings. 

Partners. He also thought of them as partners! Partners - as in more than just a couple but not yet a spouse. What else could they be at this point besides partners, really? After all they'd been through together, all that they'd come to mean to each other. After he'd flung himself into death on the chance that he might be able to snatch them both from its grasp. She knew her place in his heart, and it stirred her deep in her soul to think she could show it against her chest in the form of a bonding emblem. And, dear sweet Moon above, to have him able to show his place in her heart upon his chest, too. 

The thought alone was enough to make her feel a bit faint.

"I want." He smiled. "Partners then." He pulled his eyes away from her face to look down at the paper. "So what do they look like? Go on, show me." 

"Well, they're always circular. To show that there's no ending or beginning between the people wearing them."

She outlined a circle on the paper to serve as a guideline. 

"Traditionally, the pattern resembles phases of the moon to show change and consistency, things like that. But sometimes they're different. The story I want to tell you is about one of the origins for a pattern. It looks like a maze sometimes but it's meant to be symbolic of a tree. I'll show you." 

Aware of the finished image and the intricacies involved in the overall pattern, she took her time to carefully trace the charcoal lightly over the page to etch a series of swooping lines. Before long an overlapping knot took form that resembled tangled branches or the loose weave of a tree's root system. There was a certain symmetry and artistry to the pattern that emerged the more she drew. It was easy to see the resemblance to other Moonshadow designs, especially the older ones found at the Moon Nexus, and she wondered if he could pick up on the simple beauty and complexity the design was meant to convey. 

"The story goes that there was once this great tree. It was massive, unparalleled. And it thought that clearly, it had to be the strongest for no other tree even came close to how big and mighty it was. So this tree eventually became convinced that the strongest of trees were the ones that stood alone."

Callum's face showed what he thought of that. It was a very standard surface Moonshadow attitude she supposed. She'd heard it before after all, about how having the strength to stand alone was a mark of success and a rite of passage in a way. Callum had been the one who'd shown her that having the strength to stand alone could also mean having the strength to take a stand.

For days after meeting him that fateful night she had contemplated the strange boy who defied everything she knew about humans. 

Where she had expected a self-serving, underhanded and dishonorable person she had instead found the most selfless, genuine, noble and caring one. At first glance he hadn't seemed strong enough to stand alone, and yet she discovered that was all he'd ever seemed to have done - a protector for his brother and essentially left to fend for himself even while he had a understandably absent though surely loving step-dad. He'd shown her they had the strength to take the first steps towards breaking the cycle of violence and hate, to take a stand against the direction the world seemed determined to persist in. 

"One moonless night a terrible storm hit, and while the tree normally would have been fine if it was just rain, or hail, or lightning, or wind, it couldn't stand against all of them combined. Incredibly, the mighty tree began to fall. It was so scared that it didn't even notice another tree was falling, too. The two trees fell into each other with a great crash, but they caught and held. Limbs were lost and their trunks got splintered from the impact, however, they saw each other through the storm intact."

It may have been pure chance, coincidence, dumb luck, or destiny but whatever it was she thanked the moon that of all people it had been Callum who she'd fallen into. That he was the one who saw her through the storm. 

She cleared her throat, blinking quickly.

"The two trees briefly considered parting. Try to see if they could go their separate ways. But instead they chose to stay the way they were, fallen into one another half broken but still standing."

Seeking out his hand, she wove her fingers through his and gathered her resolve. She could get through the rest of story. She'd practiced. 

"Time passed and their branches began to grow and twine into one tree. If they ever parted it would damage the other greatly and they would both fall and die. No storm ever touched them, for they leaned against and sheltered the other. They provided the animals of the forest a safe haven of shade and respite. They enjoyed seeing animals play and live, discovered a sense of fulfillment in protecting and serving them, and found a happiness they'd never known before by helping the forest thrive through the strength of one another. Together they became known as the strongest tree."

She'd gone bit misty eyed, her vision blurring. 

"The mighty tree felt so foolish for once thinking that the strongest trees were the ones that stood alone. It couldn't ever imagine being on its own again, not after -" her voice cracked. All throughout the story she hadn't noticed her throat tightening, but now she felt its ache along with the heat and strain in her eyes. She must have made quite the picture, she thought a touch rueful - a deep scowl pulling at her mouth and furrowed brow glowering into space with wetly gleaming eyes all because of the awful maelstrom of howling need to hold Callum close to her and never let go again. 

Sniffling, she pressed on from where she'd stopped. "- Not after having its branches grow with and belong to another. Not after being able to lean against another and know shelter from every storm. Not after finding a happiness it had never known existed. The tree had found true strength now, and it wasn't from standing alone. It was found in standing with another. It was found in love. The tree knew then that it - it - it knew -" Her voice broke again as a tear spilled down her cheek. Blinking only caused more to fall instead of preventing them. 

Wiping her face, she saw Callum's eyes were damp also, his jaw quivering.

"Rayla, I found my tree, too."

"So you get it then?" Her voice had grown raspy. 

"Yeah, I get it. You help make me stronger. Better." His voice had a slight wobble and a stray tear or two made their way down his cheeks, emotions that could never be spoken finding an out. "You're my defender, my champion. My partner in all things. And I'm yours. Oh Rayla, I'm yours." 

He cleared away his sketchbook from between them, moving to put his arm around her to pull her close. She'd already been moving towards him seeing his intentions and the combined motions unbalanced him, sending them tumbling backwards. 

Quite aware of her leg resting between his and of his nearness as she lay partially over him, Rayla's breath caught, tears forgotten as her eyes grew dark. Callum looked up at her, content and welcoming, fully at ease with her so close as if it was only place he was meant to be. An ache of belonging swept through her when both his hands splayed over her back, nearly covering it entirely, as he drew her down for a kiss. A quick peck to the tip of her nose first and then his lips were against hers. It warmed her body full to bursting with a tender feeling, a beginning that held the promise of more. She felt his hands glide over her, one up into her hair and the other down to rest over her hip with a sure grip, and the next moment the world fell away until he was her whole world. 

Lips parted and met over and over in a comforting, blissful way that words, no matter how moving or patient, would ever be capable of conveying. Each kiss told a story of wanting and fulfillment. They laced their fingers together in a handhold as Rayla's arm took her weight as she brought her opposite hand to his face, gently cupping his cheek. Their breaths mingled when she eased back enough to gaze down into his eyes. Invoking the smokey heat of fire down her spine again, his free hand wandered and pulled her closer at the small of her back until there was scarcely any distance between them. She could feel the thunderous beating of his heart against her chest and knew he could feel hers against his. 

Callum grinned, looking up at her so full of happiness and joy that his eyes almost closed from the force of it. "Hey, look, you're so right. Totally stackable." That earned him a breathy laugh. She wouldn't ever get enough of his silly, amused chuckles or of how his eyes could shine so brightly but so softly, beaming at her with love and elation. 

"Shut up." She rolled her eyes skyward with a fond smile and leaned down, eager for another bout. 

It was a little different feeling his lips curved in a smile against hers for a moment before they parted to allow her to deepen the kiss. Like a mercurial wind the feeling of it changed from playful and affectionate to something with more of a flavor of yearning and possessiveness as she slanted her head to the side.

By the time they separated to gasp and gulp down air Rayla was overcome with a particularly reckless need, the feeling compounded from the events of the morning. "Can I kiss you here?" Her touch was feather light as her fingertip steadily ran over his shoulder, up the side of his neck, flicking over his earlobe to finish the path by curving around the rim of his rounded ear. 

She saw the dumbstruck expression and decided to give him a chance to gather his wits about him. As soon as her hand pulled back from teasing his ear and his panting breaths calmed somewhat he was able to meet her question with one of his own as an answer. "Can I kiss you like that, too?" 

"Please. But, um, carefully. My ears are sensitive."

It was with one hand that she could count the times she'd accidentally interrupted Ethari and Runaan exchanging the kind of kisses she wanted to try with Callum. The the first time she'd stumbled upon the couple she'd been young enough that the idea of kissing had just phased out of being gross and into something that sent warm moon moth wings fluttering all over her insides. Each time had been painfully awkward. Although it would have been untruthful to say she hadn't peered at their actions with blushing curiosity and innocent fascination before nearly falling over herself in the effort to apologize and leave them to their privacy. 

It was common knowledge that ears were vulnerable to touching. It shouldn't have surprised her so much that people would kiss there.

She had seen enough that she had some notion of what to do. As for the rest, they'd figure it out.

First, she wet her lips just enough so that they were soft and inviting. Then, trying to maintain a sense of control she slowly eased closer to gently place a kiss above the collar of his shirt right on the area where his shoulder met his neck. Acting on impulse, she was already drawing in a deep breath before she realized what she was doing. Callum's fresh clean scent flooded her senses and scattered her focus for a delicious moment. The hair that fell over his ear got swept away as she ran her hand through his dark brown locks, fingers pulling just a little in her enthusiasm. 

His neck was then decorated with hot kisses from her parted lips as she worked her way up and then back down. For every three kisses up she'd retract one to travel back down. His head turned more to the side when the area at the corner of his jaw became the center of her attention. She kissed the soft skin there and lightly introduced her tongue into the fray. 

"Oh. Oh, wow. Oh, Rayla. Wow, t-that's..." He trailed off, making a vague moaning sound that sent her pulse soaring. She wondered what sounds he might make when she got to his ear. Lingering briefly before moving on, she enjoyed both stoking her anticipation and the way his arm was currently running up and down her side, hand clutching at her hip every time it passed on its way.

Using the very tip of her tongue she playfully flickered his earlobe before taking it into her mouth to suck on for a moment. He'd been making cute flabbergasted noises, mostly pleased little moans, but when she gently took his lobe between her front teeth and slowly pulled down until she released him from her mouth, he made a noise she hadn't heard from him before, his hips jolting up slightly underneath her. 

Smiling next to his ear, her warm breath teased the side of his face. "Do you like that?" It was a purely rhetorical question. She was already moving back to repeat what she'd done to his ear hoping to hear the sound he'd made again. It was like a guttural gasp. Again. It sounded like her name. Again. The hand gripped in hers tightened, his fingers curling and relaxing over and over. Again. That got her the noise she was seeking. It was her name for sure that time. Soon her hand left its place in his hair to visit his opposite ear in preparation, a finger ghosting along the curve of it in a fondly tender, torturous manner. 

His ears were sensitive, too.

Clearly.

Highly vulnerable to touch. 

Something else elves and humans had in common. 

They continued on for some time, her lips switching from one ear, down his neck, and over and up to the other. It made her shiver every time he said her name in that low, ragged breath, like a prayer pulled up from the deep recesses of his soul. That delightful noise serving as better praise than any accolade or medal in existence.

She pulled back take in a few needed breaths, her chest heaving against Callum's. He took the opportunity to meet her eyes with his, holding their gaze in a charged moment that felt like the seconds between a flash of lightning and the crack of thunder. 

And then he was cradling her with an arm and rolling them over, flipping Rayla onto her back. Bracing himself over her he carefully brushed her hair out of the way while his lips fell upon her neck, fervently copying what she'd just shown him. 

Time started to pass a little differently. All she was aware of was the warmth of him over her, her hand still holding his with their fingers laced together while her other hand had tunneled up under his shirt to grip his back. When he started the light feathery touches of his mouth and tongue as he licked runes or maybe human words onto her neck, her back arched helplessly against the sensations. Her jaw clenched before forcing herself to relax it, mouth going slack to pant and gasp. His hand gripped hers tight from where it had been pressed down into the blankets and she gripped back just as tightly. 

She knew ears were sensitive, but she had no idea having her neck kissed and worshiped with his mouth would be like this. As he moved up just underneath the corner of her jaw and around it to finish behind her ear she heard a distant noise crying out and blushed a new shade of red when she realized it was coming from her. She pulled her lower lip between her teeth then, a pulse of pleasure hitting her low in the gut, so intense that she worried over the state of her pants and how they were faring against the slick heat steadily gathering there.

She didn't concern herself with it long because he had moved back around to the front of her ear. 

He surprised her when he didn't go straight for her earlobe then. Instead he traced along the rim with his tongue and softy blew on the newly moistened skin. A cool, tingly, sensation sent both her ears twitching restlessly, and he pulled away to meet her eyes. "I love you, Rayla." There was that low rumble in his voice again, the sound soft and smooth but catching on emotion. 

"Callum, I love you, too. So much." Her voice was unsteady. Raspy and breathless with feeling. "It feels like saying 'I love you' isn't enough."

"Yeah. I know just what you mean. We'll just have to say it a lot. It'll add up to enough maybe. Buuuuut, in the meantime I guess I'll just have to show you." He smiled and settled back over by her ear.

"Show me."

He tried the same technique she'd used on him, sucking on her earlobe and dragging his teeth along it to release it. She didn't think her heart had ever worked as hard before, beating more frantically than when she'd exerted herself in a swordfight performing acrobatics or from sprinting and launching herself through the treetops. He paused between kisses only to whisper sweet nothings - “mmm…you smell so good” - or - “you drive me crazy” - or, her favorite - “I love you.”

She smiled each time and managed to murmur back at one point. "My loud mage." 

His hand squeezed hers and he kissed all the more passionately, working his way up to the tip of her ear. The feeling of his lips closing over her eartip and the warmth of his mouth as he nibbled and sucked on it had a potent effect. She raked her fingers down his back, moaning his name. There was a certain vulnerability to the moment that left her feeling like she'd revealed too much, but, not for the first time, she took less issue with it, glad to have shared her enjoyment knowing his every touch and kiss was for her benefit to show her the depth of his feelings. She didn't mind showing him the depth of hers either even if it made her feel a little exposed in a way she hadn't quite gotten used to yet. 

"Oh, Callum.” She choked out his name, gasping and husky, repeating it over and over until it had become an endearment in and of itself, growing nearly delirious from feeling the heat of his lips move to trail down her neck and over to the other side to glide up, up, up until his mouth began teasing her other ear. She was pretty sure her vision flashed white for a second when his lips closed over her eartip to begin the same treatment he'd given her earlier. 

It must have been the sounds of her so gratified that inflamed his confidence for he sank down onto his forearms, his frame enveloping hers, and she felt him heavy against her like a warm rod of iron as he began a slow, deliberate grind of his hips. 

"Y-you're okay with this, right? This is okay?" He whispered his uncertainties in a tight voice next to her ear. 

It made her want to laugh. He didn't need to keep asking every time, but she supposed he wouldn't be him if he didn't always check in with her even when every sign pointed to her being more than okay with what he was doing. 

"Yes, you dummy. It's okay. It's all very okay." She smirked, meeting his eyes before giving him a kiss, tugging on his lip lightly as she pulled away. Her breathing was hot against his mouth. "So. So. _Very_. Okay." Every word was spoken with an arch of her back and a raise of her hips to nudge up against him. 

"...Okay." Feeling him shudder and hearing the way his voice caught on the indrawn breath pleased her greatly.

And then they were exchanging deep kisses that touched her very soul, their grip around each other's hands tightening even as she felt herself melt. 

It had been a a series of awkward makeouts and stilted conversations that had helped get them to where the current level of intimacy was something that didn't spook either away. The first time he'd rubbed against her by accident he'd wrenched himself away so fast she thought she'd done something to hurt him by mistake. With his shoulders hunched up around his neck and unable to look at her, he'd stammered apologies and seemed strangely shameful about the whole thing as if he'd done something wrong. 

Bizarrely, what had come to mind then was the one bit of advice, echoing in Lujanne's voice of all things, about the kernel of wisdom concerning the light and dark sides of the moon and the contrast of their visibility. Rayla took his hand and explained that he was like the bright side of the moon, his ardor obvious, while she was the dark side, hers still very much present though not able to be seen as easily. 

To show him the truth behind her words she had brought his hand to her chest to let him feel how her heart beat for him. Red-faced, she'd brokenly whispered that, just like with the pull of primal magic during the full moon, knowing she excited him made her feel empowered and invigorated in a similar way. He'd been able to meet her eyes again and, in an effort to take away some of her embarrassment, he'd shared that he felt the same way hearing the noises she made whenever they managed to slip past all her efforts to keep them quiet. 

Bit by bit, they'd both gotten better about being self-conscious, learning with each other and being more honest and open with their physical communication. It had been a tentative process at first, but it had quickly escalated each time they could steal away an intimate moment, bringing them to here and now. 

And right now she was fighting against the urge to bend at the knees to shift her legs up and around him, knowing it would be too much for them both. Instead, accepting it would be better to put things on hold for later, she gradually rocked slower and slower against him until they both stilled. The kisses between them gentled from a blazing heat until they changed to a calm warmth and their harsh breathing grew quieter. 

Just as with learning any new swordplay, she knew it was best to proceed slowly, to take her time to learn every nuance and demand careful repetition from herself until she obtained the strong foundations of mastery. 

They'd be revisiting this again. And perhaps they'd both add some new element to take things further at their own pace. They'd talk about it just as she had when asking to kiss his neck and ears. Each time, one or the other would ask for something new so that they gradually grew comfortable and sought out more, bit by bit. 

A kiss to the tip of his nose signaled an end to their makeout session and she turned them back onto their sides, a little apologetic to cut it short but knowing she wouldn't want to rush into something more than what they were ready for just because they had gotten carried away. 

He had told her before that he felt much the same way. 

He had shared a story from his past, bittersweetness flooding his voice as he spoke to her. He told her that his step-father had a long talk with him once and explained that falling in love and being intimate with someone was like going to a festival. There was a bakery at this festival where everyone wanted to go to since it was so amazing, yet to go to the bakery all the other attractions would have to be skipped over. Callum had continued his story, telling her that he wanted to take the time with her to enjoy the decorations, dance to the music, have fun with all the games, browse through merchants' booths, experience the whole festival and then when they'd had their fill of all that they wanted, then they would go to the bakery. 

Human customs and teachings may have been a little bit weird, but she couldn't help but see a profound wisdom to the metaphor, momentarily wishing she had been given a similar talk when she was younger.

Rayla found his sketchbook and pulled it back over, needing the distraction. 

"Let's finish this up. How about you draw your version, and I'll supervise."

Callum had gathered up some of the blankets to drape over his groin. She wanted to comment that just because a cloud drifted in front of the moon she was still able to feel its magic work on her. Thinking better of it she kept quiet, hoping his apparent philosophy of 'out of sight, out of mind' might work for her, too.

"Sure, ah, is it alright if I make the pattern into something a bit simpler?" He was studying her drawing from earlier, a finger in the air tracing imaginary lines of a design he was already conjuring in his mind.

The design couldn't be changed too much, but she was curious to see what he might come up with. 

"Yeah, it's fine. Just don't alter it so that it's not recognizable. Show me what you're thinking."

She watched in awe as he distilled her drawing down to the core image, the pattern resembling a rune glyph in its minimalism and more simple geometric look. It still maintained the tree symbolism in a less elaborate way that lost none of the original's sophistication. She quite liked it.

He grinned at her obvious favor of his interpretation. "Sometimes, less can be more. The message comes through better with fewer things going on."

She agreed, but considered that the center of the pattern lacked something. "What do you suppose we do here?" She tapped the empty spot and quirked an eyebrow at him. 

"Oh, that's easy. You said these were like the branches of the trees. Well, at the center of my tree is you." He added a circle within the free space. "It's supposed to be the moon. It represents you."

It wasn't fair how he could pluck on her heartstrings so effortlessly. 

She took the charcoal from him to make a needed adjustment.

"It's certainly coming along, but it's missing a little something." She drew a curving line more or less down the center of his circle. Very meticulously she filled in half of the circle with thin, tiny overlapping ovals. 

"Oh, Rayla, that's -"

"At the center of my tree is you. So I thought it would be right to have both of us here. Just like in the story." She tried to downplay it with a little half-shrug.

She'd drawn a spread wing within the circle to represent him.

"Two halves of the same whole?" His eyes looked a little a little damp with feeling, his heartstrings well and truly plucked. 

"Two halves that are making the other half more whole?" Both were right. The trees in the story had grown to become one tree and they did both help the other find a source of inner strength and happiness through one another.

He'd taken the pencil from her to hold her hand, knowing their drawing couldn't be improved upon, and kissed her on the knuckles.

"Partners," he suggested.

Rayla nodded. Thinking about all the ways he embodied the meaning of the word partner - she knew the pendant reflected it. Looking at what they had created on the page, she could see the the way he cared for and accepted her, the strength and support he offered. She could also see it blend in a harmony with what she knew the pendant's meaning symbolized - wisdom, strength, endurance, and truth. She thought of all the ways he'd brought out the same traits in her, and knew she'd done the same for him. 

It was the perfect symbol. 

If the magic she felt from thinking of him, being with him, could be given form, it was there in the pendant they'd designed.

"Partners," she agreed.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Here's an idea of what their pendant might look like. Takes inspiration from Runaan and Ethari's moon opals and Celtic knots, the Dara knot in particular.
> 
>   
> 


End file.
